The Republican governor says in a statement that "the likelihood of this measure surviving a court challenge remains in question." He calls the measure "a legitimate attempt by a state legislature to discover the boundaries" of the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling.

Dalrymple on Tuesday also signed into law another measure that would makes North Dakota the first to ban abortions based on genetic defects such as Down syndrome. He also endorsed a measure that requires a doctor who performs abortions to be a physician with hospital-admitting privileges.